Monday, August 7, 2017

It
is with great pleasure that we welcome Jean Fullerton to the Romantic Novelists’
Association blog today. Jean is a friend to many members of the RNA and her
journey to publication is one that has thrilled many NWS members who still
dreamt of their first publishing deal. Here, in the week that Jean’s latest
book is published, she tells of the latest turn in her extraordinary life as an
award-winning author.

Now let me tell you being a
writer is just the greatest job in the world and there’s nothing better than

when you’ve sweated blood to bring a story together someone emails you to say
how much they love your book. However, before you can receive such an email your
book needs to get into the hands of the reader.

Now I know today you can be
independently published and many good friends have decided to follow that
pathway. I applaud them for their bold decision for me however, I decided to
take the traditional route to publication and I have been fortunate that for
the past ten years Orion have been my publisher.

The publishing industry are
always working a year in advance so this time last year when Wedding Bells for
Nurse Connie was released my agent and I were deep in negotiation for the next
contract. Over the summer as the discussion went back and forth it became increasingly
clear I was not working out so after a couple of lengthy discussions with my
lovely agent Laura Longrigg at MBA Literary Agents I told her to say thanks but
no thanks on my behalf. Now, I won’t pretend that being without a publisher for
the first time in eleven years I didn’t wake up in the wee small hours in a
cold sweat on a few occasions but in the cold light of day I knew I’d made the
right decision.

Over the past few years other
publishers had approached my agent but as I was already under contract at the
time we couldn’t pursue their offers. However, within a week or two of Laura putting
out feelers she had a phone call from my original editor at Orion, Sara
O’Keefe, who is now Editorial Director at Atlantic. The rest, as they say, is
history.I am now under contract with
them and just finishing my second East London WW2 book for them and am hopeful
of many more to come.

Turning down a publishing
contract is a leap into an uncertain future but sometimes you just have to hold
on tight to your self-belief and say no.

About
Jean:

A Londoner who worked as a
district nurse in East London for over twenty-five years and is now a full-time
author.She has won multiple awards and
all her books are set in her native East London.Her first series was set in the early 1800s
but her most recently four books about nurses Millie and Connie have jumped
forward a century and are set at the end of WW2. Her latest book, POCKETFUL OF DREAMS, is the first of her
East London WW2 series featuring sisters Mattie, Jo and Cathy Brogan and their
extended family.

It's 1939,
and the Brogan family of London's East End are ready to show Hitler what for.
But things don't seem so rosy when rationing, evacuation and air raids start to
put this larger-than-life family to the test.

When a
mysterious young man arrives at the Brogans' local parish church, he provides
just the dazzling distraction they need - and for eldest daughter Mattie, the
promise of more than she'd ever wished for. But as the pair fall deeper in
love, they are drawn into secret dangers, rife on the very London streets they
call home.

As the young couple race to protect the East End, as they
know it, can their dreams survive the darkening backdrop of wartime...?

Thank you, Jean, and good luck with Pocketful of Dreams.If you would like your book to be featured on the RNA blog please contact us on elaineeverest@aol.com

Friday, August 4, 2017

It's a great pleasure to welcome literary agent Tracy Brennan of the Trace Literary Agency to the RNA blog today. Tracy is here all the way from Mishawaka, Indiana, to talk to Helena Fairfax about her agency and about her role representing British and Irish authors.

Welcome to the RNA, Tracy!

The Trace Literary Agency is based in Indiana, and yet you represent many top contemporary Irish
authors, as well as authors from the UK. Please could you tell us how this came
about, and

how you came to set up your business.

This is a question I get all the
time. And I always say, “How much time
do you have?” 14 years ago I was traveling with my husband and then 8 month old
daughter to Dublin.

About 400 miles off the coast of
Ireland, the airplane caught fire! A
cooling fan in the cargo hold overheated, causing a fire somewhere below the
first class cabin. The pilot had to take
the plane down to 10,000 feet so he could open the cockpit windows to let the
smoke out. He then made the announcement
that he would ‘try’ to make a landing in Shannon!

When the coast of Ireland appeared,
the danger had not passed. There was no
way of knowing if the fire had damaged the landing gear. Eventually the airport runway came into view,
lined with firetrucks and ambulances.
When we did land, all the passengers were told we’d be taken by a fleet
of buses to Dublin. Unbeknownst to me,
this is where the business of becoming a literary agent would begin.

I met a very lovely woman on the
journey from Shannon to Dublin. She held
our daughter the entire time. She gave
us her business card and told us if we needed anything while in Dublin, to let
her know. Her name was Terry Prone, then
director of Carr Communications; now with The Communications Clinic in Dublin. We had no idea that she was a radio and television
personality and very famous Irish author.

To make a very long story short (and
I don’t think I’ve done a very good job here), Terry and I remained in contact
for a couple of years after that trip exchanging emails, letters and even
Christmas presents.

So how did I become a literary
agent? Plain and simple, the credit goes
to Terry Prone. She was my first client. I started working on her books trying
to place them with US publishers. Terry then introduced me to several other
Irish authors. Over the years Trace
Literary Agency has grown and I now represent authors from Ireland, Wales,
England, Scotland and the US - may of whom are award-winning authors.

Do you often visit Ireland and the UK? Or do you feel it's possible now
for agents to work with authors all over the world without the need for travel?

I usually make one, sometimes two
trips a year to Ireland and the UK. I do
think it's much easier with the internet and publishers requesting e-files to
do a lot of work via email, Skype, FaceTime, etc. But it is still nice to meet face to face and
talk with your clients and get to know them on a personal level. I usually meet potential clients at book
launches I attend or at Literary Festivals.
I only have a couple of clients that I’ve not met personally.

One of your authors – Nicola Cassidy – has just signed a deal with
Bombshell Books, which is a new imprint of Bloodhound Books.
How do you stay abreast of publishing news/developments in Ireland and the
UK?

I do a lot of networking and
research. Sometimes I am referred to a
particular publisher from editors I’ve worked with. And I always ask my clients to give me a list
of the publishers they would like me to contact, as there are quite a few that
I am not familiar with.

What is it you are
looking for when a manuscript lands on your desk? Are there any specific plots
or themes you’d like to see?

My interest is quite diverse. I enjoy women’s commercial fiction,
historical fiction, YA and I am now working with a lot of crime/thriller
novels. I am dabbling a little in
non-fiction as well.

Do you ever find
authors outside the slush pile? If so, how?

I do. If I am
uncertain or don’t have a strong feeling one way or the other, but there is just
something that catches my eye, I ask a reader/book reviewer for their input.

What advice would you give someone submitting to you?

Do your homework. Make sure the agency represents the type of
book you are writing. Write a clear, concise query letter of introduction.
Don’t be afraid to sell yourself. This
is the time to brag about your accomplishments. Include a brief synopsis that
tells the story without giving away the ending.
Make sure your manuscript is complete and has been edited. There is nothing worse than reading a
manuscript that an author is dying to have published, but is full of
grammatical errors, spelling errors, and has poor pacing.

What’s your favourite romance novel of all time?

That’s such a hard question. There are so many to choose from. I’d probably have to say The Notebook, by Nicholas Sparks.

Apart from your own authors, which book have you enjoyed the most in the
past twelve months, and why?

I’ve enjoyed re-reading some of the
books I read as a student in Great Books Seminar:

The
Catcher in the Rye, The Grapes of Wrath, The Old Man and the Sea, The Great Gatsby, To Kill a Mockingbird and there’s more on the list. Just never enough time!

What do you like to do in your spare time?

I love traveling, boating,
photography and spending time with my family.

If you could describe your working-day in just three words, what would
they be?

Busy, exciting, challenging.

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer our questions, Tracy. That's certainly one of the most dramatic introductions to literary agency we've encountered! I'm so glad your plane journey ended happily.

If you've enjoyed Tracy's interview, or have any questions or comments at all, please let us know. We'd love to hear from you!

About Helena

Helena Fairfax is a romance author and editor. Her latest release is a feel good summer romance called Felicity at the Cross Hotel. You can find out more about Helena's books and her editing services on her website www.helenafairfax.com

If you would like to write for the RNA blog please contact us on elaineeverest@aol.com

Thursday, August 3, 2017

Another month and another batch of wonderful books from members of the Romantic Novelists' Association. Thank you to Sheila Riley for her diligence in collecting and compiling the list and cover images.

TRADITIONALLY PUBLISHED BOOKS:

LOUISE ALLEN

Marrying His Cinderella Countess

Historical
Romance

Ebook,
paperback and large print

Harlequin
Mills & Boon

August
2017

Ellie Lytton is resigned to
her life as the very ordinary, lame housekeeper to her half-brother and an
author of children’s books. But when the high-handed Earl of Lytton arrives on
her doorstep with shocking news she blames him, the man who has been haunting
her dreams and fantasies, for the sudden change in her circumstances. He can
escort her to her new home, she declares, and he reluctantly does so. His
honour tells him he has to look after her – even if she fights him every inch
of the way, especially when he declares that she must become his countess.
Ellie knows it is only his sense of duty and her pride is not going to allow
her emotions to dictate her answer, to allow herself a dream of Cinderella
marrying her prince. Can two stubborn people finally admit to what is in their
hearts?

JO THOMAS

The Honey Farm on the Hill

Contemporary
women's fiction.

Paperback
and Ebook

Headline

24th
August

We never forget the one who
got away.

Eighteen years ago Nell fell
in love in the mountains of Crete and life changed for ever.

Nell's daughter, Demi, has
never met her dad. Nell never saw him again. When she gets the chance to return
to the hilltop town of Vounoplagia - where everything began - Nell can't resist
the urge to go back and find him. Working on a honey farm perched high up in
the hills, there's plenty to keep her busy. And she will quickly realise the
town harbours just as many secrets as she does. But if Nell's favourite
romantic films are right, there's a happy ending in store for each of us. All
she has to do is seek out the magic of the mountains... Jo Thomas takes you there.

BELLA OSBORNE

Escape to Willow Cottage

Ebook
and paperback

Avon,
HarperCollins

RomCom

10th August 2017

Beth is running away. With her
young son Leo to protect, Willow Cottage is the lifeline she so desperately
needs. Overlooking the village green in a beautiful Cotswolds idyll, Beth sees
a warm, caring and safe place for little Leo. When she finally uncovers the
cottage from underneath the boughs of a weeping willow tree, Beth realises this
is far more of a project than she bargained for and the locals are more than a
little eccentric! A chance encounter with gruff Jack, who appears to be the
only male in the village under thirty, leaves the two of them at odds but it’s
not long before Beth realises that Jack has hidden talents that could help her
repair more than just Willow Cottage. Over the course of four seasons, Beth
realises that broken hearts can be mended, and sometimes love can be right
under

your nose…

JEAN FULLERTON

Pocketful of Dreams

Paperback
and Ebook

Atlantic

WW2
Saga

3rd
August 2017

It's 1939, and the Brogan
family of London's East End are ready to show Hitler what for. But things don't
seem so rosy when rationing, evacuation and air-raids start to put this
larger-than-life family to the test. When a mysterious young man arrives at the
Brogans' local parish church, he provides just the dazzling distraction they
need - and for eldest daughter Mattie, the promise of more than she'd ever wished
for. But as the pair fall deeper in love, they are drawn into secret dangers,
rife on the very London streets they call home. As the young couple race to
protect the East End as they know it, can their dreams survive the darkening
backdrop of war-time...?

ANNIE O'NEIL

Tempted by the Bridesmaid

Medical
Romance

Traditional
and Ebook

Mills
& Boon

1
August 2017

A
woman to unlock his heart?

The last time brooding Italian
surgeon Luca Montovano saw bubbly heiress Francesca Martinelli was at his best
friend's failed wedding. Sparks flew then, and now she's made a surprise appearance
at his mountaintop clinic, bringing a much-needed whirlwind of laughter!
Aristocratic Luca just wants to be left alone to care for his orphaned niece.
The scars on his face reach right to his heart, and he's learned to push people
away. Until Fran forces him to see the world through her eyes!

ANNIE O'NEIL

Taming His Pregnant Princess

Medical
Romance

Traditional
and Ebook

Mills
& Boon

1
August 2017

"Hello,
Beatrice." Face-to-face with the man she'd loved and lost two years ago,
Dr. (and Princess) Bea di Jesolo knows she has no right to forgiveness, but she
hopes they can call a truce for the sake of their patients. Pediatrician
Dominic Coutts had always seen the woman beneath the royal fanfare that
surrounded Bea: at heart, she was more surgical gown than ball gown. But loving
her had cost him once. Could he risk his heart again—especially when he
discovers her secret?

RACHEL BRIMBLE

Ethan's Daughter

Romantic
Suspense

Paperback
and Ebook

Harlequin
Super Romance

There's safety in solitude…isn't
there? Single dad and best-selling thriller writer Ethan James has no problem
being Templeton Cove's most famous recluse…until a surprise visit from the past
plunges him into a real-life crime drama just as feisty nurse Leah Dixon barges
her way into his world. Ethan's first priority is to protect his daughter. His
second priority is to keep Leah out of this dark web—and that means out of his
bed. Except Leah isn't going anywhere; she's afraid little Daisy is in danger.
Ethan couldn't live with himself if anything happened to Leah…but pushing her
away may be even harder!

KATE FIELD

The Truth About You, Me and Us

Contemporary
women's fiction

Paperback
and Ebook

Accent
Press

25
August 2017

Sometimes the hardest person
to be honest with is yourself…

Five years ago Helen Walters
walked out on her ‘perfect’ life with the ‘perfect’ man.

Wealthy, glamorous and bored, she
longed for something more. Now a talented artist with a small business, Helen
creates crazy patchwork crafts to support her young daughter, Megan. Penniless,
content and single, she is almost unrecognisable. But when her past
unexpectedly collides with her new life, Helen finds herself torn. She knows
what the easiest choice is, but is it what she wants?

TRACY CORBETT

The Forget-Me-Not Flower Shop

Contemporary
romantic fiction

Ebook

Avon/HarperCollins

Evie is busy running the
Forget-Me-Not Flower Shop and praying for an uplift in sales as soon as
possible. She might be in the market of selling romance, but for Evie a new man
is the last thing she needs! That is until plumber Scott Castillo turns up to
fix her boiler. She’s definitely not interested. But then, why does she keep
ogling his rather attractive forearms? She’s been fooled before - she isn’t
about to fall head-over-heels for some smooth-talker, right? When he isn’t
trying to balance paying the bills with caring for his sick mother, Scott has
stepped in to help parent his 18-year-old nephew, Ben. Between that and working
full time Scott doesn’t have time for romance. Until he meets Evie…

Love doesn’t always bloom the
way you expect but for the customers of the Forget-Me-Not Flower Shop it might
just be the perfect time for romance…

MOLLIE BLAKE

Guiltless - A Cheshire Love Story

Adult
Romance Suspense

Paperback
and Ebook

Black
Opal Books

Date
of Release 26th August

Managing Director of her own
successful fashion house, Lauren Chandler should have everything going for her.
But at twenty-nine, she finds herself single again, and bored.

Seeking a new challenge in her
life, under the guise of saving her company money, Lauren embarks on a mission to
model their latest range of lingerie herself. She just needs a photographer.
When Byron Lord makes an unusual proposal, Lauren is adamant he won’t win the
contract. Riddled with guilt, photographer, Byron Lord, embarks on a path he
never wanted. OCD is only one of his unusual traits. As co-owner of Broadway
Studios he is determined to provide job security to his off-beat workforce and
he needs Lauren Chandler’s help to do so. Byron may have underestimated how far
Lauren would be prepared to go. He had definitely underestimated how much she
would demand of him. With an ultimatum of her own, Lauren gets far more than
she bargained for.

But things rarely go to plan.
Something isn’t right at the studio and Byron needs all his wits and courage to
protect those around him and fight his own demons. To top it all, the question
“what to do about Lauren Chandler” just won’t go away.

ELLIE HOLMES

The Tregelian Hoard

1st
August 2017

Paperback
large print

Romance

Linford Romance

With her engagement in
tatters, Jonquil Jones, a Portable Antiquities specialist,

moves to Cornwall for a fresh
start. When a golden torc that has lain hidden underground for
centuries is unearthed, she can feel her soul stirring with excitement. Is it a
single find or part of an extraordinary treasure trove? It's Jonquil's job to
find out. But there is one problem: Sebastian Ableyard, who reported
the find, is the man Jonquil holds responsible for the break-up of her
engagement...

CAROL MCGRATH

The Woman in the Shadows

Paperback
and Ebook

Accent
Press

Historical
Fiction/Romance

4th August

When cloth merchant’s
daughter, Elizabeth Williams, is widowed at age of two and twenty, she is
determined to make a success of her husband’s cloth business, but she has
powerful enemies. When she meets Thomas Cromwell, ambitious merchant turned
lawyer, Elizabeth finds a protector and is determined to marry for love this
time round but it isn’t easy being married to the wife of an influential, headstrong
man in Henry VIII’s London. Can love and respect survive in a city filled with
ruthless people. Will a long concealed secret be their undoing?

LYNNE CONNOLLY

Fearless - The Shaws, Book One

Georgian
historical romance

Ebook
and paperback

Kensington

22nd
August

When Lady Charlotte Engles
receives an offer of marriage from an eligible suitor, she’s finally ready to let
go of her long-held hope that her engagement to Lord Valentinian Shaw will
result in marriage. For despite the betrothal their families made between them,
Val shows no interest in leaving his reckless life behind in favor of one with
Charlotte. But when her plea to end their arrangement ends in a heated embrace,
suddenly Val seems reluctant to let her go… The last thing Val wants is a wife,
despite how desirous his lovely bride-to-be has become. But when he discovers
sweet Charlotte is planning to marry a dastardly man, he feels duty bound to
keep her safe, even if that means making good on his marriage pledge. Then
Charlotte is taken hostage by her dangerous suitor and suddenly Val is ready to
risk everything for the woman who has won his heart.

JUDITH
BARROW

A
Hundred Tiny Threads

Ebook
Paperback

Historical
family saga

Publisher:
Honno Press (17 Aug. 2017)

The prequel to the Haworth
trilogy, this is the story of the parents of the protagonist, Mary Haworth in
in Pattern of Shadows, Changing Patterns, and Living in the Shadows.

It’s 1911 and Winifred Duffy
is a determined young woman eager for new experiences; for a life beyond her
well-off family and their prosperous grocer’s shop, a family ruled over by her
domineering mother. On the opposite end of the social scale is Bill Howarth.
His scars from a troubled childhood linger; he is an angry young man.. The only
light in his life comes from a chance encounter with Winifred, the girl he
dreams about and is determines to make his wife. But meeting her friend
Honora’s silver-tongued brother turns Winifred’s heart upside down and they
begin a love affair that Bill can only watch from a distance. But after a suffrage
rally turns into a riot, Honora and Conal disappear. Abandoned Winifred has
nowhere to turn but home. The Great War intervenes, sending Bill abroad to be
hardened in a furnace of carnage and loss. When he returns he is unemployed
and, desperate for money, joins the Black and Tans to quell the riots for Independence in
Dublin. But all is not what it seems there and Bill deserts, still dreaming
of Winifred and the life they might have had… Back in Lancashire, worn
down by work and the barbed comments of the narrow-minded townsfolk, Winifred
faces difficult choices in love and life.

EBOOKS:

SHARON BOOTH

New Doctor at Chestnut House

Contemporary
Romance

Ebook

Fabrian
Books

12th
August 2017

Is
home a place—or a person?

Anna's about to leave
Bramblewick behind. She's due to marry her childhood sweetheart in a few weeks,
and then she'll be heading to Kent and a whole new life. Connor's a new arrival
in Bramblewick. He's bringing with him a whole lot of baggage, and he's
doubtful that this small village on the Yorkshire Moors is the ideal place for
him and his daughter, Gracie. It's not easy for Anna, watching Connor move into
her family home and take over from her beloved father at the local surgery, but
she's determined to help him settle in and adjust to rural life, so that the
villagers get the doctor they deserve. Connor's not convinced. This country
practice is very different to what he's used to, and the locals have some
strange expectations of their GP. Protective of Gracie and hiding behind
self-constructed barriers, Connor struggles to adapt to life in Bramblewick.
Can Anna convince him that this is the place where he and Gracie can finally
find happiness? And can she convince herself that leaving Bramblewick is the
right move for her?

ABBEY MACMUNN

One Night in Kuala Lumpur

Erotic
Romance

Ebook

Tirgearr
Publishing

In search of inspiration,
successful artist Ziva Clarke takes a trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Her
exhibitions in the UK have left her exhausted and she's had no fun in
ages - the exotic Far East could be just what she needs. Charmer Sam
Tempest is visiting KL on business, but behind the impeccable suit and the
wicked smile, he’s not a happy man. Duty bound to join his family’s
international business, Sam longs to follow his

true passion—to carve wood
sculptures. The two lonely souls meet by chance on a crowded street, and when
it turns out they might not be the strangers they first thought, so begins a
night of confessions, shared dreams and hot sex. Can one steamy night in Kuala
Lumpur be the answer to both their dreams?

DEIRDRE PALMER,writing as ZARA THORNE

Escape to Sunrise Cottage

Contemporary
romance

Ebook

Fabrian
Books

1st
August

When artist Violet Brooke
leaves her engagement ring on top of a Chinese wedding cabinet and runs away
from the trendy apartment in London’s Brick Lane, there’s only one place to go
– Sunrise Cottage. All she wants is to cosy up in her rural retreat, get on
with her painting, and forget about Jayden Fox, bad boy of the East End art
scene – he’s certainly forgotten about her. The last thing she needs is
romance. But then handsome antique dealer Max Finch shows up in the middle of a
field and the problem is, he’s impossible to resist. As much as Max wants
Violet to stay in the village, somebody else wants her gone, and they’re making
sure she knows about it. But who? And why? Is this Violet’s cue to head back to
London and pick up her real life? Or is Sunrise Cottage – and Max Finch – as
real as it gets?

NELL DIXON

Looking For Juliet

Medical
Romantic suspense

Ebook

Clean
Reads

18.7.17

‘More than her heart is in
danger’

Looking for Juliet is the
latest release from multi-award winning, best-selling novelist Nell Dixon. Dr.
Neil Forrest’s introduction to Juliet, his new practice nurse got off to a
fiery start in more ways than one. Juliet, and her small son, Charlie are
hiding out from something or someone, but who and why? Neil quickly realizes
that he has to leave his own past behind if he is to be there when it counts
for Juliet, and for Charlie.

EVONNE WAREHAM

Summer in San Remo

Ebook

Choc-lit

Romantic
Comedy.

18th
July.

Anything could happen when you
spend summer in San Remo …

Running her busy concierge
service usually keeps Cassie Travers fully occupied. But when a new client
offers her the strangest commission she's ever handled she suddenly finds herself
on the cusp of an Italian adventure, with a man she thought she would never see
again. Jake McQuire has returned from the States to his family-run detective
agency.

When old flame Cassie appears
in need of help with her mysterious client, who better than Jake to step in?
Events take the pair across Europe to a luxurious villa on the Italian Riviera.
There, Cassie finds that the mystery she pursues pales into insignificance,
when compared to another discovery made along the way …

GABRIELLE MULLARKEY

Four
Riddles for Jane Austen (and her artful maid Tilly)

Regency
historical

Ebook

Corazon
Books

12
July 2017

At 31, impoverished spinster
and keen observer of life Jane Austen uses her marginal place in society to
team up with her loyal maid, Tilly Marshall, and unmask the malicious, vengeful
and desperate in a world where money and status are all, not everyone is who
they seem and secrets are worth killing – and dying – for. Along the way, Jane
loses her heart, as well as coming close to losing her life. Full of witty
dialogue, pacy action and memorable characters (above and below stairs), Jane
and Tilly’s encounters cement their lasting bond and provide inspiration for
Jane’s best-known works. Seasoned Janeites will enjoy references to some of her
most beloved characters, but if you haven't read a word of Jane Austen before,
it won't spoil your enjoyment of a devilishly twisty plot!

INDEPENDENTLY PUBLISHED:

LISA HOBMAN

In
His Place - Sonic Idols Book 2

Ebook
and paperback

Amazon

7th
July

Four years after the tragic
death of his brother Joe, Sonic Idols drummer Si Delaney still struggles to
cope with what happened to the man whose shoes he subsequently filled. A forced
hiatus from touring unleashes feelings he's tried hard to push aside, and Si
knows he needs to seek forgiveness before he can ever truly move on. Determined
to make amends he sets off in search of Joe’s fiancée, Allie. Can Allie help Si
to realise he wasn’t to blame for the tragedy, or will he forever feel like an
imposter in Joe’s place?

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Loves Me Loves Me Not

Romantic Novelists' Association

We work to enhance and promote the various types of romantic and historical fiction, to encourage good writing in all its many varieties, to learn more about our craft and help readers enjoy it.

Romantic Fiction covers an enormous range, from short stories through category romance and much of women's fiction, to the classics. The nature of romantic fiction means that most of these novels are written and read by women. The RNA, however, boasts a number of very successful male authors amongst their membership.